


30 Seconds

by suchaehwa



Category: Archie Comics, Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: AU, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Jughead's the killer, Love, kind of, supportive betty
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-05
Updated: 2017-04-05
Packaged: 2018-10-15 04:33:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,311
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10550136
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/suchaehwa/pseuds/suchaehwa
Summary: Betty finds out Jughead killed Jason, but her reaction is not what Jughead expects.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Just a quick little thing before bed! Hope you like it!  
> (Btw: not proofread)

Jughead’s searching his place for some book he said he left behind when he ran away from home and Betty’s awkwardly waiting in the living room beside the racket of clothes hanging, the floor’s dirty and dusty and she can barely see the original color of the carpet. It’s a sad sight and despite it hurts to know that Jughead’s been without a home for so long, she’s happy he wasn’t and isn’t living here in such a toxic environment.

Her family may be messed up and act a little crazy at times but at least their food is edible and not months beyond the expiration date. She drags her hand along the shelf over the hanging clothes and her hand comes off covered in dust which she blows away and wipes on her pants, and then suddenly she spots something out of the corner of her eye. It’s a mixture of blue and yellow hanging amongst jackets and sweaters and she carefully and tensely reaches for the sleeve sticking out. She pulls it out enough to see a bit of the chest and she steps back in shock and horror as she sees the stitched yellow letters spelling Jason. 

What is Jason’s jacket doing at Jugheads place?  
How did he get it?  
Did they know each other better than Jughead let on?  
With so many thoughts running through her head she doesn’t hear the footsteps coming up behind her nor the shocked gasp that Jughead lets out as he sees exactly what has Betty so frozen.

“Betty,” he hesitantly speaks and she spins around quickly, her eyes wide and her lips quivering, “Jughead,” she answers tentatively and he tries to reach for her but she steps back. He frowns and worries his lip anxiously, “I can explain,” his voice cracks halfway and he clears his throat as Betty looks up to meet his eyes.

She reaches behind her and grabs at the jacket before lifting it up for him to see, “why is Jason’s jacket here?” her voice trembles and Jughead feels the world crashing around him, he doesn’t want Betty to fear him, nor hate him but by the way she’s staring at him he’s pretty sure this won’t end prettily.

“Please, Betty I-” she cuts him off by throwing the jacket on the floor, her breathing heavy and now it’s Jughead’s turn to take a step back. “Did you kill him?” Betty suddenly asks and Jughead knows that if he decides to lie she’ll know, but if he tells the truth, she’ll hate him.

He bites at the inside of his cheek and clenches his fists to stop himself from speaking, he can’t possibly blame it on someone else now that she’s found the jacket. And he can’t get away with saying he doesn’t know it ended up there, so he sighs heavily and closes his eyes, “yes,” he whispers.

He expects a slap, a punch, a kick or screaming but he gets neither, instead, all he can hear is silence and it scares him. He hesitantly cracks one eyes open to see Betty just standing there, she’s exactly the same as before he told her and he can’t possibly understand why she’s not yelling at him or punching him right then and there. And then she takes a careful step forward and Jughead’s entire body tenses in fear of the incoming.

She hugs him.

He registers the smell of her hair and the soft touch of her skin before the thought of her actually hugging him even reaches his mind, but when it does he hugs her back tightly in fear that if he lets her go it’ll all be a dream.

“Oh Juggie,” she mumbles into his shoulder and if possible he tightens his hold on her, “why?” she questions and her voice sounds wobbly and wet and Jughead pulls away just enough to see her tear stained face, her eyes are red and her nose a little runny and he feels immense guilt wash over him for causing her such distress and sadness.

“I’m sorry,” he mumbles and leans forward to place a careful kiss on her forehead but she wrenches away from his hold, more certain than before, “why?” she repeats and Jughead sighs heavily before reaching for her hand, thankfully she doesn't protest.

“You remember that thing about the drugs, right?” squeezing her hand while looking at his shoes he feels Betty squeeze back before humming in response, “yeah, what about it? He bought it from your dad, right? Is that why?” she asks and he’s pleasantly surprised by how chill she’s being, considering her boyfriend just admitted to killing someone.

“No,” he mumbles before hesitating, “or, well, yeah, I guess,” around Betty he just seems to lose his words and he fumbles for the correct thing to say, but Betty, patient as always only looks at him with kind eyes and awaits his response, “he blackmailed my dad with the drug situation for cash, cash from the serpents and cash from my dad himself.”

Betty frowns and squeezes his hand until he looks up at her, “why didn’t he just give it to him?” she questions and Jughead tries to keep the tears at bay, he really does, but with the way Betty’s looking at him, so comforting and so reassuring he lets the tears flow, “my dad’s not a bad man, Betty,” he mumbles and Betty moves closer until their faces are mere inches away, “I know that, Juggie, I do,” she leans her forehead against his and he sighs deeply.

“He sends money to my sister, without it they- they need it, Betty,” Jughead chokes out and she shushes him before pulling him into a tight hug, “he was gonna tell the police, Bets, he was gonna take him away and despite him being a bastard most of the time, he takes care of Jellybean, and if he was to be exposed it would all go to hell, for me and for Jellybean,” he pauses to sob into her shoulder, “I couldn’t let that happen, Betty, I couldn’t.”

He doesn’t know for how long they stand there but when they finally pull apart Betty’s shoulder is wet and Jughead’s eyes red and swollen, he doesn’t know what he’s expecting, but it’s certainly not for Betty to kiss him despite the snot and the salty tears. He kisses her back, of course, desperately and hot, afraid she’ll pull away any second and leave him alone.

She chases his lips and he laps at her lips and pulls her tighter by the hips, how Betty can still kiss him after what he confessed is beyond him but he’s happy as ever. 

But everything has an end and when Betty pulls away he’s afraid to see the look of regret on the face or hear the sirens outside or hear a whispered goodbye, so his eyes remain closed. 10 seconds. 20 seconds. 30 seconds pass and the only sound to hear is the heavy breathing coming from himself, so he dares to open his eyes to take a look around and Betty’s still standing in front of him, a small smile gracing her lips and he tilts his head in confusion.

“I’m not going anywhere, Juggie,” she whispers and grabs his face, “I’ll stay by your side for as long as you’ll have me.”

“I’ve killed someone, Betty,” he mumbles and he feels her grip on his face lose its grasp of his face for only a fraction of a second before she’s back and pecking his lips, “we’ve all done things we’re not proud of,” she says without elaborating but Jughead has a feeling that the story doesn’t end there, but they’ve got years to talk and get to know each other, because they’re not going anywhere, not for a long while.

**Author's Note:**

> I don't think Jughead's the killer but it's always nice to explore the possibilities!  
> Leave a kudos or comment if you can <3


End file.
